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Cities are popular

Infographic | 29-05-2016

The Netherlands is a highly urbanised country. At the same time, the share of the population that lives in large metropolitan areas (over 500,000 people) is remarkably small. The majority of Dutch ‘urbanites’ live in small and medium-sized towns. This is the result of the polycentric urban structure of the Netherlands; most urban regions are made up of multiple urban cores at relatively short distances from each another.

Currently, after an extended period of suburbanisation and urban decline in the 1960–1990 period, cities are regaining their former status. City centres in particular have enjoyed a resurgence of population growth, especially regarding families with children (Evers et al., 2015). The outlook for the future is also favourable. CBS/PBL (2013) predict a strong concentration of population growth in urban municipalities, particularly in and around big cities.

Source data

The map on population change is based on data provided by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The future projection is based on calculations by PBL and CBS (2013). The classifications of ‘City’, ‘Commuting zone’ and ‘Rural area’ are based on the definition by the OECD (2012). More information on the definition can be found here: http://www.oecd.org/regional/redefiningurbananewwaytomeasuremetropolitanareas.htm

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